NEW ECU WEBSITE

Dear chess friends,European Chess Union is creating the new official website, which is currently in a test version.The site will operate under the historic ECU domain name www.europechess.org which is inthe availability of the ECU administration.

INVITATION FOR THE EUROPEAN INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIP 2015 IN JERUSALEM

European Individual Chess Championship will be held in Jerusalem - the capital of Israel, from February 23 (day of arrival) until March 9 (day of departure) 2015. The tournament will be held at the Jerusalem Ramada Hotel, which will also be its official accommodating hotel.The organizer of the Championship is Jerusalem Municipality together with the Israel Chess Federation, under the auspices of the European Chess Union.The European Individual Chess Championship is open to all players representing Chess Federations which comprise the European Chess Union (FIDE zones 1.1 to 1.10) regardless of their title or rating and there is also no limit in the number of participants per federation. The European Individual Championship 2015 is a qualification event for the next World Cup. According to FIDE regulations and the decision of the ECU Board, 23 players will qualify. The Championship will be played according to the Swiss System in 11 rounds, with time control 90 minutes for 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game + 30 seconds increment per move, starting from move one.The prize fund is EUR 100 000, with 93,750 EUR for the main prizes and 6,250 EUR for the special prizes.Participants can fill an online registration. It should be filled in and sent to Ophir Tours not later than December 20, 2014.All federations should send a list of their representatives to the Israel Chess Federation prior to the individual registration of the player, and each individual registration is valid only after the applicant\'s federation approved it.Participants can get all necessary information regarding registration and payments through Ophir Tours. Chess related inquiries should be addressed via email to the Israel Chess Federation:E-mail: office@chessfed.org.ilFax: + 972-3-6437630Address: 26 Tagore St., Tel Aviv The regulations can be downloaded below.

WELCOME TO TALLINN – HOST OF THE EUROPEAN YOUTH RAPID AND BLITZ CHAMPIONSHIPS 2014

The capital of Estonia, beautiful Northern city of Tallinn, will host the 14th European Youth Rapid and Blitz Championships (U8-U18) for 2014. The Championship will take place from November 12-17 in the city centre of Tallinn at Meriton Grand Conference & Spa Hotel.The organizer is the Estonian Chess Federation in cooperation with the European Chess Union.This will be the great opportunity for children aged 8-18 to try their luck in Rapid and Blitz Chess, which are getting more and more popular nowadays, especially in young population.The Championship consists of 5 competitions:(1) 14th INDIVIDUAL EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP – RAPIDSwiss System ,9 rounds, 15 minutes + 10 sec per player. Categories: U8, U10, U12, U14, U16 and U18, Boys and Girls separately. The best player in each category wins a cup, and three best players in each category get medals and diplomas. The five best players get prizes in different items in goods.(2) 13th EUROPEAN RAPID CUP - RAPID SUPERFINALTwo categories, Boys and Girls. The best players in each category of Individual European Youth Championships - Rapid 2014, enter Rapid Super Final (16 players total - separate boys and girls, will play matches in 4 rounds, knock - out system). Prizes in cash: 1. = 400 €, 2. = 300 €, 3. = 200 €, 4. = 100 €.(3) 14th TEAM EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS - RAPIDThree categories: U10, U14 and U18. Teams are composed of 3 boys + 1 girl and two reserve players. Swiss System , 7 rounds, 10 minutes + 5 sec per player .(4) 14th INDIVIDUAL EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS - BLITZThree categories: U10, U 14 and U18 separate for boys and girls; Swiss System, 9 rounds, 3 minutes + 2 sec per player. The best player in each category gets a cup. The three best players in each category win medals and diplomas.(5) 13th EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP IN SOLVING CHESS PROBLEMSThree categories: U10, U14 and U18; The three best players get different prizes.The prize fund of the Championships will be at least 10 000 euros - including 2000 euros in cash for the best of the Rapid Superfinals. The remaining prizes will be in goods, such as Lenovo tablets for the European champions in the older age categories.The medals of the European Youth Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships are crafted in cooperation with OÜ Medalikoda. The design is by artist Jane Siimso-Merivoo. 44 sets of medals will be awarded at the Championships (26 sets in the individual competitions and up to 18 in three different age categories of the team event).308 players in Rapid and 241 players in Blitz have registered so far, and we expect this to be a great and numerous chess event.More information at the Official website of the Championship

MATCH CARLSEN-ANAND STARTS TOMORROW!

The most important chess event of the year – World Chess Championship Match 2014 starts on 7th November and will last until 28th November, 2014. The main actors of this match are the World Champion Magnus Carlsen from Norway and the winner of the Candidates Tournament 2014 and former World Champion Viswanathan Anand from India.The Russian Chess Federation and the city of Sochi will be the host of the match, and the official venue is the Olympic Media Center.The Carsen-Anand match will be played over a maximum of twelve games and the winner will be the first player to earn 6.5 points or more. If winner scores 6.5 points in less than 12 games then the closing ceremony will be re-scheduled for an earlier date.The Chief Arbiter of the match is IA Andrzej Filipowicz from Poland. Deputy Arbiters are Husan Turdaliev and Anatoliy Byhovskiy.Organizers have prepared hundred seats in the playing hall in the Olympic Media Center, and the special visitors’ areas will be provided as well. Both English and Russian-language commentary areas will be available for free for those who want to follow the games live.
Schedule of the match:November 7th – Opening CeremonyNovember 8th – Round 1November 9th – Round 2November 10th – Rest DayNovember 11th – Round 3November 12th – Round 4November 13th – Rest DayNovember 14th – Round 5November 15th – Round 6November 16th – Rest DayNovember 17th – Round 7November 18th – Round 8November 19th – Rest DayNovember 20th – Round 9November 21st – Round 10November 22nd – Rest DayNovember 23rd – Round 11November 24th – Rest DayNovember 25th – Round 12November 26th – Rest DayNovember 27th – Tie-Break GamesNovember 28th – Awards and Closing Ceremony
The games will start daily at 3pm Moscow time, and will be broadcast live.
More information at the Official website of the match
Photo source http://www.sochi2014.fide.com/behind-the-scenes/

Last week, from 16th to 18th October, 2014, the International Conference “Chess in Schools” was held in Yerevan, Armenia. The Conference was organized by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Armenia, the World Chess Federation (FIDE), as well as the Armenian Chess Federation and the Chess Academy of Armenia, in cooperation with the Armenian State Pedagogical University named after Khachatur Abovyan.
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On Saturday, 11th October, 2014 in Birmingham the Annual General Meeting of the English Chess federation was held.The European Chess Union congratulates the new elected President of the English Chess Federation, Mr. Dominic Lawson. The new elected FIDE delagate is Mr. Malcolm Pein.
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The first Russian Chess Museum was opened on 25th September in the renovated halls of the historic mansion on Gogol Boulevard in Moscow. The new capital Museum will be the successor to the chess Museum facilities, which were situated at the Central House of Chess in the 80s of the 20th century.
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Polonia Wroclaw Chess Club, under the patronage of the European Chess Union and the Polish Chess Federation organizes the European Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship 2014, from 19-21 December, 2014, in Wroclaw/Poland.The Championship will be held under the auspices of Rafa Dutkiewicz – the President of the city of Wroclaw and will bear the name the 23rd Adolf Anderssen Memorial.
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